Truths in Buddhism

[sentient]

Originally Posted by Phaelyn

Or perhaps you know your statement is false. That sitting meditation practice is the core of Buddha's teachings.

core definition...
the central or most important part of something.
verb

It is only by actually doing/practicing meditation, which will answer that question - if it is a core-practice or not.

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[sky]

Originally Posted by sentient

Ah, I didn’t specifically look at it that way, but yes of course!
That is how not knowing – knowing works, one informs the other.

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Each contains the seed of the other and cannot exist separately.





The Dance of light and shadow.....Yin and yang were seen to mutually create each other, mutually control each other and mutually transform into each other.

[Phaelyn]

Originally Posted by sentient

It is only by actually doing/practicing meditation, which will answer that question - if it is a core-practice or not.

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What is the goal of doing a practice? I assume everyone would have a different answer. Different goals, different conditioning, different religions or "spiritual" groups they joined in some way. Now people may throw out answers like "enlightenment" or whatever, to provide some kind of localized sameness in the answer, but then that leads to the question, "what is enlightenment?" Eventually, one sees everyone is lost in their own minds, their own opinions, their own conditioning. The answers will be quite different from each other. Unless one quotes the same book or web page or whatever lol. But then, ya like I said, that is religion and group specific.

I'd say to the average person, a practice is to achieve something for themselves. Now in Buddhism, one should not desire an achievement. So right there, whatever they are doing is not a "Buddhist" practice because their understanding, their intent, is wrong. One has to have some kind of self understanding so that the practice is not an ego based activity, so that one is not trying to change something, but is only trying to realize what is already here, already present, instead.

It's like people take a little corner of "Buddhism" and ignore the rest then egotistically practice which in fact sustains the ego, feeds the ego, makes the ego stronger, more puffed up, because after all, this ego is now doing spiritual things! The ego or self is on a journey to enlightenment....yes which will never work out. It's the putting away of the ego that leads to a new way of being and seeing and experiencing and opens one up to the divine.

[Phaelyn]

Originally Posted by sentient

I thiiiiink that is what Castaneda called the “Mirror-of-Self-Reflection.”
A kind of bubble (if one objects and reacts calling it a “Mandala”) …. we imprison ourselves in.

Doesn’t matter where one looks, 360 degrees, it is still our conventional/conceptual interpretation of reality.

The key-word or the pass-word that has been used here is “reflection.”

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Yes true and that's the key to it all. The rare jewel in the pile of rocks. Seeing, or having the insight, that moves one out of the self enclosed bubble. Then you and me and everyone is seen as the same. Divine consciousness ignorant of it's true nature and all tied up with various "not self" things and energies. A few consciousness's here and there that have some sense of where freedom lies and have achieved that dissociation from what is not them in varying degrees.

The further one goes into truth, the less they are...no ego remains. They seek and desire nothing. Not because they don't want, but because there is no one there to want. The self, me and you and everyone else, are not our stories, not our thinking, not our conditioning, not our opinions and beliefs, it is just the witness to all of that. In that, we are all the same. Then when we put away what is not self, the connection to the source is felt. It shines though, it's nature.

[sky]

Originally Posted by Phaelyn

What is the goal of doing a practice? I assume everyone would have a different answer. Different goals, different conditioning, different religions or "spiritual" groups they joined in some way. Now people may throw out answers like "enlightenment" or whatever, to provide some kind of localized sameness in the answer, but then that leads to the question, "what is enlightenment?" Eventually, one sees everyone is lost in their own minds, their own opinions, their own conditioning. The answers will be quite different from each other. Unless one quotes the same book or web page or whatever lol. But then, ya like I said, that is religion and group specific.

I'd say to the average person, a practice is to achieve something for themselves. Now in Buddhism, one should not desire an achievement. So right there, whatever they are doing is not a "Buddhist" practice because their understanding, their intent, is wrong. One has to have some kind of self understanding so that the practice is not an ego based activity, so that one is not trying to change something, but is only trying to realize what is already here, already present, instead.

It's like people take a little corner of "Buddhism" and ignore the rest then egotistically practice which in fact sustains the ego, feeds the ego, makes the ego stronger, more puffed up, because after all, this ego is now doing spiritual things! The ego or self is on a journey to enlightenment....yes which will never work out. It's the putting away of the ego that leads to a new way of being and seeing and experiencing and opens one up to the divine.

' Now in Buddhism, one should not desire an achievement. So right there, whatever they are doing is not a "Buddhist" practice because their understanding, their intent, is wrong.'

As what you have written above is also wrong according to Buddhism and The Buddha's Teachings...






As I've previously mentioned, if you really are interested in Buddha's Teachings the best way is to read, study and practice....


You might find His Teachings on ' Skillful Desires ' will help you..... Then you could move on to ' Right Understanding and Right intent.'

' The path that takes you to nirvana is rooted in desire .'


' Listen to any desire that would take you in that direction, for that's your path to true happiness.'

Originally Posted by Phaelyn

That source is only your own mind and thoughts. That's your authority not mine. I was referring to you providing a source somewhere outside of you. But if you can't that's fine. Really I doubt you have an interest in such things, thus your unwillingness to find an actual source. You just wanted to judge somebody else as that is your occasional habit or conditioning.

Or perhaps you know your statement is false. That sitting meditation practice is the core of Buddha's teachings.

core definition...
the central or most important part of something.
verb

It's kind of funny to consider a formal practice the core of Buddha's teachings when he tried that life as a wondering acetic and abandoned it. Are you familiar at all with the story of (Siddhartha) Buddha? I'd suggest you read or re-read Siddhartha by Hesse then ponder the core of Buddha's message.

The important thing is such a thing is the core for you! That's fine. Keep on doing sitting meditation! I wish you well with your chosen practice. But yea working on getting others to believe and do what you do, be what you are, good luck. Meditation to me is a lot more than sitting in a room doing whatever it is you do. If the practice is transcending the mind, one should do it always in my view. Every moment..... when eating, talking, standing, walking, sitting, during every activity....... no on and off switch..... every activity is "spiritual" or meditation.... what good is sitting in meditation for 2 hours then going to a forum and judging somebody in a post? That 2 hours was a waste of time. But then some don't think that way eh....

The Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path are not my thoughts. Nor is meditation and its centrality to Buddha and his life, teachings and practices.

I ignored the rest of your mumbo jumbo which you are so enarmored with...like looking in the mirror and laughing all day long. I find it telling that a simple question and observation that you don't even meditate is met with such a flood of resistance

JL

[sky]

' A good analogy can be found in the Brahmana Sutta (SN 51.15).'

A Brahmin was asking Venerable Ananda, the attendant to the Buddha, about the Buddha’s teaching at a park. He asked the familiar question:

“Such being the case, master Ananda,
the situation is without an end,
not with an end.
It is impossible that one can abandon desire
by means of desire itself!”

Venerable Ananda, as usual, with a twinkle in the eye, returned the question,

“What do you think, brahmin,
did you earlier have a desire,
‘I will go to the park’
and after you have gone to the park,
did the said desire subside?”

And the brahmin could not but agree! And so Venerable Ananda cleverly concluded on his behalf, that the goal of enlightenment is with an end, not without an end.

Secondly, it is a common “mistake” to say that Buddhism is about ending all desires. There are certain purposes that we wish to achieve, some which are unwholesome (greediness, anger and deludedness) which result in a vicious cycle leading to unending suffering, and there are the wholesome purposes which are based on positive counterparts: generosity, kindness and clarity which result in a virtuous cycle.

Buddhism therefore seeks an end of desire for what is not good. Surely the Enlightened One still would wish for the well-being of others. However, the hallmark of cultivation is when one is not troubled and remains in equilibrium and peace despite whether or not the purpose is satisfied.

[Gem]

Seems like we need a teaching to tell the answer, and that desire to be right can be noticed through self-awareness. Irony is, when one reads the teaching to find out what the answer is, the observable truth is one's own uncertainty.

[sentient]

Originally Posted by sky123

Each contains the seed of the other and cannot exist separately.

Yes, exactly

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[sentient]

Originally Posted by Phaelyn

What is the goal of doing a practice? I assume everyone would have a different answer. Different goals, different conditioning, different religions or "spiritual" groups they joined in some way. Now people may throw out answers like "enlightenment" or whatever, to provide some kind of localized sameness in the answer, but then that leads to the question, "what is enlightenment?"

Enlightenment Is Not-Knowing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NsTAVGFzgk

Originally Posted by Phaelyn

Eventually, one sees everyone is lost in their own minds, their own opinions, their own conditioning. The answers will be quite different from each other. Unless one quotes the same book or web page or whatever lol. But then, ya like I said, that is religion and group specific.

No.
Not-knowing has the potentiality to lead/shift awareness to non-dual silent communication.
Not knowing – what iz it? ….. is like space perspective observing and zooming in on the target where the question and answer meet oooor ‘simultaneously arise’.

Or iz it ?

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